Ferrari F1 Team Reports Improvement To Wind Tunnel That Was Shut Down Last Year

Ferrari F1 Technical Dir Pat Fry officially recognized that Ferrrai's wind tunnel is running after Team Principal Stefano Domenicali decided to close it at the end of last season, according to Javier Rubio of EL CONFIDENCIAL. Fry said, "It is functioning at 100 percent right now, 24 hours per day, seven days a week." Ferrari "shut down its Maranello tunnel late last year to work on correlation problems that had held it back, with Toyota's state-of-the-art windtunnel in Cologne being used instead for development work" (EL CONFIDENCIAL, 11/7). AUTOSPORT's Edd Straw reported "although Ferrari is still in the early stages of evaluating its improved windtunnel," Fry is "encouraged by progress." Fry: "We have certainly made some reasonable improvements there. Time will tell if we are exactly where we would like to be but the signs are good at the moment." To assess the "effectiveness of the Maranello windtunnel, Ferrari has been conducting some tests specifically to ensure it is generating the same results as the Toyota." Though the new "1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines that will be introduced next year will be a significant performance differentiator next year, Fry has no doubts aerodynamic development will also remain vital" (AUTOSPORT, 11/6).